STORY: Technology helps transform saline-alkali soil into fertile land in China's Baicheng
DATELINE: Oct. 1, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:32
LOCATION: BAICHENG, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of scenery of Baicheng
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): MAO YINHUA, Head of Lihua Family Farm, Baicheng City
3. various of scenery of Baicheng

STORYLINE:

Modern technologies have been helping farmers in Baicheng City in China's Jilin Province reap bumper harvests on saline-alkali land.

Mao Yinhua contracted 150 hectares of saline-alkali land in 2015 and tried to convert it into farmland.

However, due to a lack of technology, the rice yield was very low, which resulted in a loss of over 3 million yuan (about 410,900 U.S. dollars) in the first three years.

Later, experts from the Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences imparted their knowledge to Mao on the techniques for converting saline-alkali soil into arable land, and introduced saline-alkali tolerant rice varieties.

In 2022, Mao's rice fields produced 8,000 kg of grain per hectare, with a net profit of over 600,000 yuan (about 82,175 U.S. dollars).

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): MAO YINHUA, Head of Lihua Family Farm, Baicheng City
"First of all, this has greatly boosted my confidence. Saline-alkali land is not unmanageable. It can certainly become fertile land or even high-yield land, but this requires technical support, policies, funding and the perseverance of farmers." 

Over the years, Baicheng City has achieved a successful transformation of its saline-alkali land.

For nine consecutive years, Baicheng has held the title of being the top rice-producing city in Jilin Province.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Baicheng, China.
(XHTV)